Stocks rise as Greece clears final bailout hurdle

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose sharply today, putting the market on track for its fourth straight gain, after Greece cleared a final hurdle toward receiving its next installment of emergency loans. A pickup in manufacturing around Chicago also pushed indexes higher.

Greek lawmakers passed a cost-cutting bill that has been working its way through that country's parliament since Tuesday. The bill, which has caused violent protests in Greece, had to be approved before international lenders would release $17 billion in rescue funds that the country needs to avoid defaulting on its debt. A default by Greece would disrupt financial markets and lead banks to freeze lending to other heavily indebted European countries.

Traders were also reassured by encouraging signals on the U.S. economy. A trade group reported that manufacturing in Chicago sped up unexpectedly in June. Analysts had forecast a decline.

Stocks are still below the 2011 highs they reached in late April, when a series of weak economic reports indicated that the U.S. economy was slowing down. Since then investors have been debating whether or not the slowdown would be a short-term blip before the recovery gets back on track.